Sun releases Java under GPL licence

SUN MICROSYSTEMS will announce today that its Java language, contrary to the prediction of many pundits, will be offered as pure "Free Software" -as Richard Stallman would say "free as in freedom"- under a GPL version two licence.

Ponytailed CEO Jonathan Schwartz will announce the ground-breaking move in a webcast to be held later at 9:30am Pacific Time. Both Java SE -used on desktops - and Java ME - used on mobile phones and PDAs- will be included. The server-side Java, or Java EE will be available both under the GPL version two licence and the same Common Development and Distribution Licence (CDDL) that Sun has used until now.

The Java Development Kit - including the javac compiler - will also be part of the open sauce release, and with all political and philosophical barriers removed, Sun expects every linux distro to embrace Java, or in the words of Rich Green "Sun will be working closely with distributors of the GNU/Linux operating system, who will soon be able to include the JDK as part of the open source repositories that are commonly included with GNU/Linux distributions”.

Part of the announcement will be that Java ME source will be available immediately on Sun's java.net site, while other parts like Java EE or the source for a buildable JDK will take a little more time, but Sun expects all parts to be available for download during the first quarter of 2007.

Today, Java is the de facto standard in all but the more low-end mobile phones, and advances in CPU speed and memory availability means that desktop Kava applications that can run on any OS where a Java runtime available are now able to compete both in graphical complexity and speed with native code. There's even a few very nice Java based office suites available these days like EIOffice and Thinkfree, something that was tried and was a failure ten years ago, simply because Java was a technology ahead of its time in 1996.

This move helps Sun concentrate on creating tools and services around the Java software ecosystem, and Red Hat is a living example of how a company can profit by selling support services and other products based on GPL code, and also paves the way for widespread adoption of Java on GNU/Linux. It also puts Novell in a very uncomfortable position, because its "Mono" project will never be as free as Java, having to always have to "chase a moving target" which is Microsoft's own APIs and specifications. In the words of Red Hat's Robert H Pennington: "Microsoft controls the .NET platform. They will always be ahead, and it will always be tuned for Windows. This is the wrong direction for free software". It took Sun two years to realize this, and finally it can be said that going forward, Java will be Free Software.

As if all this wasn't enough, the choice of the GPL licence will also help preserve compatibility, as any enhancements to Java will have to be shared with the rest of the community. In related news, we have to deny the rumour about Richard Stallman having a shock and being in a coma after hearing these Earth-shaking news, really. What the tech plebs - always prone to Sun-bashing - will say after this remains to be seen. And that brings us back to ponytail CEO Jonathan Schwartz and Novell's recent deal with the Evil Empire of Redmondia. Schwartz wisely said a few years ago in an interview published by "Business 2.0" magazine: "No company has ever done a deal with Microsoft that lasted, they're just naive if they think they can". What more can I say? To quote Mel Brooks' character in the movie Spaceballs: "Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!" µ

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